site.btaMedia Review: May 30

The second government-forming mandate, handed over by President Rumen Radev to the second largest parliamentary force – Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) and the discussions around it are extensively covered by the media. 

Second Government-forming Mandate and Leaked Recordings

Trud, 24 Chassa and Telegraph cover the events around the handing of the second mandate to CC-DB Prime Minister designate Nikolay Denkov by Rumen Radev extensively.

***

Trud’s article points out that the President did not even invite the CC-DB representatives to sit and to meet tete-a-tete, as per the protocol, and supposes that the reason behind such an attitude is due to the leaked recordings of CC’s National Council and the subsequent public confessions for “torpedoing Bulgarian sovereignty", in Radev’s words.

The question of CC’s declining potential is a main topic in a Trud interview with mathematician Prof. Mihail Konstantinov. He calls the CC leadership “foolish” mainly due to the fact that such topics of delicacy should be discussed in a much smaller circle. He still believes that a government with the second mandate may be formed, should the political leaders step aside and CC-DB forms some sort of a coalition. He sees two main alternatives – a CC-DB coalition with GERB - UDF and a coalition of GERB-UDF with the Movement for Rights and freedom (MRF), There Is Such a people (TISP) and Democratic Bulgaria (DB), if the latter spearates itself from Continue the Change. Konstantinov also taps into the topic of the state budget, which is yet to be revised and tailored to the new conditions of 2023. He says that if the parliamentary forces fail to do so, they would take a massive popularity toll among voters, especially pensioners.

Trud also gives the opinion of Dr. Georgi Chaldukov, who compares the political situation in Bulgaria with an ersatz Pandora’s Box. According to him, the rapid unfolding of events will not stop now, but in his view, the main question remains whether or not the „political scammers“ will be condemned.

On its front-page, Trud has MRF leader Mustafa Karadayi, who calls on convening a Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria, which he believes is the only way to root out politicians, who are present on the political arena thanks to speculation and scheming.

***

On occasion of the President’s comment that it would be wiser for CC-DB to return the mandate, because it has been discredited already, Telegraph quotes Nikolay Denkov that the President cannot give advice to the National Assembly on such matters.

***

24 Chassa uses GERB-UDF PM designate Mariya Gabriel’s statement that her party is freezing the negotiations with CC-DB to say that currently the CC are in an “Ice Age” with the President, with GERB-UDF and with the Prosecution Office. After giving a brief overview of the situation, 24 Chassa quotes President Radev that convening the Consultative Council on National Security becomes a problem due to the lack of trust in the people present, with whom, as Radev says, he should discuss matters of delicacy. The newspaper gives the answer of CC-DB PM designate Nikolay Denkov that the interpretations of “national treason” are far-fetched and that perhaps the President enjoys the extraordinary power in his disposal, albeit Bulgaria is a parliamentary Republic. 24 Chassa also features the opinion of CC co-leader Assen Vassilev that after the events in the Presidency, society sees what the stakes are – on the one hand, a dictatorship, in Vassilev’s words, and on the other – a parliamentary Republic. 24 Chassa quotes the leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Korneliya Ninova that the CC cannot be part of the solution of the country’s problems, since they have created them. Ninova criticizes the President as well, pointing out that he conveniently misses the part of the recordings, which concerns him and his role in the election process. The newspaper also features CC member Lena Borislavova’s opinion that Rumen Radev has unipersonally changed the leaderships of Bulgaria’s special services, thus cannot accuse the CC of such an act.

***

On its front-page Duma renders the political situation “unprecedented” and features the opinion of BSP MP Georgi Svilensky that the CC-DB has eroded the left part of the political spectrum with the help and support of the President. Svilensky states that the second mandate is already discredited, but while he seems to have an accord on that part with President Radev, he criticizes him and call on him to give explanations for the parts of the recordings of the CC National Council that his name is mentioned.

Duma also features the analysis of BSP MP Alexander Simov on the political situation in the aftermath of the leaked recordings. He says that what was being discussed there is nothing less than a “coup d'etat” and accuses the CC of lying the voters. Simov also raises the question of President Rumen Radev’s role in CC’s rise to power, which was also mentioned by CC co-leader Kiril Petkov in the recording. Simov’s conclusion is that CC’s approach, which became crystal clear by the recording does not lead to the change Bulgarians desire, but rather replaces it.

***

Capital.bg calls President Radev’s handing of the second exploratory mandate a “farce” and points out that currently the “only pro-EU formation” in the National Assembly is isolated having the President, GERB-UDF, MRF, BSP and Vazarazhdane as its enemies. Capital points out that during the discussions in the Presidency, a small group of protesters led by pro-Russian former General Dimitar Shivikov stated that they would not allow “the brutal foreign intervention in domestic politics”.  

***

On the morning talk show of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Constitutionalist Dr. Plamen Kirov said that CC-DB will try to fulfill the second mandate and that the President’s reaction is logical, considering the leaked recordings. Kirov pointed out that no party has ever presumed to clarify with any embassies preliminarily who will sit in the chairs of the heads of special services. Kirov added that this is done through an institutional mechanism related to the access to classified information in NATO and in the EU alike.

On the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), CC MP Yavor Bozhankov accused President Radev and the Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev of sabotaging the efforts to form a regular government. He said that the public conversation between Radev and Denkov in the Presidency saw the peak of the former’s attacks against CC-DB. He stressed that the distrust between CC-DB and GERb-UDF must be overcome, because new elections would not give a better perspective.  

***

BNT, bTV, NOVA and Sega.bg say that CC co-leader Assen Vassilev was summoned for questioning at the Sofia prosecutor's office in connection with alleged threats to CC defector-MP Radostin Vasilev. After the questioning, Assen Vassilev told journalists that he knew nothing of such threats. Sega also points out that the other CC co-leader – Kiril Petkov, was summoned to the Sofia prosecutor’s office as well.

Mediapool and bTV both report that the CC-DB expects the negotiations with GERB-UDF to continue. On the bTV morning talk show CC representative Lena Borislavova stressed that Bulgaria needs a regular government. The same need was reiterated by CC MP Andrey Gyurov on NOVA TV. In his words, President Radev has lost his image as a national unifier and accused him of disregarding the Constitution of Bulgaria.

Mediapool says that the National Assembly will give a hearing to the heads of the State Agency for National Security (SANS), the Defence Intelligence Service and the State Intelligence Agency at an extraordinary sitting on Tuesday. The hearing was demanded by the parliamentary group of Vazrazhdane and was supported by VMRO- Bulgarian National Movement (VMRO – BNM).

BNR has an interview with national security expert Dr. Milen Ivanov, who said that the special services should not become part of everyday politics and political combinations. He pointed out that the current heads of the services are a result of political intervention, because the services were split from the Armed Forces in 2006.

Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev and Supreme Judicial Council

Trud, 24 Chassa, Capital, Telegraph and Duma report on the Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev’s request to the Constitutional Court on a constitutional interpretation of whether the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has the prerogative to remove him from his position, since the latter’s mandate has expired on October 3, 2022. The political crisis has hindered the election of a new SJC by the National Assembly. Thus, the Prosecutor General seeks the opinion of the Constitutional Court, which, in the event of a negative answer, would help Geshev revoke a potential SJC decision for his removal.

On BNR, Prof. Andrey Yankulov rendered the conflict between the Prosecutor General and the SJC as a “clan war”, which he views as a result of larger shifts in the political and judicial landscapes of the country.

24 Chassa features an extensive interview with caretaker Minister of Justice Krum Zarkov on the topic of the new legislative bills, which his Ministry is working on. The interview features his considerable analysis on the current state of the judicial system. On the topic of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev’s request to the Constitutional Court, Zarkov said that Geshev questioned the legitimacy of the SJC only now, when his position is threatened.

Economy

24 Chassa has an interview with Wolf Harlfinger - the CEO of the Joint-Stock Mining Industrial Company "KAOLIN" EAD on occasion of its 100th anniversary. He says that the company is currently a leading one in the kaolinite processing in the whole of Europe and is commenting on the future investments that the Quarzwerke Gruppe will make in the region. The interview is followed by an extensive analysis of “KAOLIN” EAD’s development and current positions on the European market. It says that despite the crises an the war in Ukraine, the company retains its employment rates and provides salaries that are much higher than the average in local municipalities.

Telegraph reports that the Ministry of Finance considers unfreezing the State reserves in the event that the State budget is not updated in the National Assembly. The article points out that a caretaker government has several restrictions on operating with the fiscal reserves, which has led to them being frozen.

Trud has an extensive article on the matter of a second pension-paying. It provides a thorough analysis of the number of pensioners, who have received pensions from the private pension funds and those who rely on the universal ones.

Miscellaneous

NOVA reports that Hristian Pendikov, the secretary of the King Boris III Bulgarian Cultural Club in Ohrid, who was assaulted in January on an ethnic basis in his hometown of Ohrid, North Macedonia, gives his first testimony to local investigators. During the last hearing, his assailant Ilija Spaseski said that he understands the indictment, but does not feel regret.